1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to surgical sutures, and more specifically relates to packages used for storing, shipping, and dispensing surgical sutures.
2. Description of the Related Art
Surgical sutures are used during surgical procedures for closing wounds and surgical openings. Sutures are frequently stored in sterile packages that are opened at a surgical site so that the suture may be removed from the package. A suture needle may be secured to one end of a suture for advancing the suture through tissue.
There have been a number of advances in suture packages. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,520,382 to Kennedy et al. discloses a suture package having a base member and a cover member. The base member includes an outer wall extending around an outer circumference thereof. The outer wall has a predetermined height that engages the cover member when the cover member is placed adjacent the base member. The package includes a partition structure that extends from a bottom surface of the cover member and defines at least once suture retaining area.
Covidien sells an absorbable wound closure device under the trademark V-LOC 180, which includes a tray that holds a surgical suture, and a flexible liner that covers the tray. The flexible liner cover may be pulled away from the tray for exposing the suture in the tray. The tray of the V-LOC 180 package includes a series of projections and flanges formed in the tray that are adapted to hold the suture within the tray during shipment and storage. Unfortunately, the projections and flanges in the tray have been found to constrain removal of the suture from the tray, which may have adverse consequences. For example, the suture may become entangled with the tray when being dispensed from the tray. Entanglement issues may be particularly prevalent for sutures having barbs, stops and/or loops.
In view of the above problems with conventional suture packages, there remains a need for improved suture packages that enable one or more sutures to be easily removed from the package for use during surgical procedures. There also remains a need for a suture package that does not have any constraining structure in the dispensing tray so that the suture may be freely removed from the tray without dragging the suture across surfaces, which may damage the suture or render the suture unusable.